Date:Apr 25, 2018
Australian Vanadium Ltd’s (ASX:AVL) test work continues to deliver excellent results for vanadium from the Gabanintha project with which the company hopes to supply battery and steel markets.
The ongoing tests demonstrate that Gabanintha’s unique high vanadium grade, coarse-grained, massive titaniferous magnetite, allows magnetic upgrading at relatively coarse grind size.
These features support a low-energy beneficiation process, which forms part of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the Western Australian project that is underway.
Shares were up 9% in early trade to 4.9 cents on volume of more than 12 million.
Managing director Vincent Algar said: “It is significant that Gabanintha is rapidly taking its place as a new deposit highly comparable to the few existing global vanadium mining operations.
“Key factors such as the high concentrate mass yield, high vanadium recovery and excellent magnetic concentrate quality with very low deleterious elements silica and alumina, allow that comparison.
“In addition, the coarse grind size and associated low comminution energy demand, all add to the high potential for a lower capital, and low operating cost beneficiation plant to feed downstream vanadium processing.”
The aim of the test work is to determine comminution parameters for Gabanintha’s high-grade vanadium material, as well as determining the potential recovery and quality of concentrate.
Ongoing tests are being carried out on 24 large diameter diamond core samples with a focus on geometallurgical characterisation, flowsheet development and further optimisation of concentrate yield and quality.
AVL’s comminution and beneficiation test program is being conducted on multiple diamond core samples.
